


Trixie Mattel! PI!

by pyrsrun



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Yoga, Detective!Trixie, Detectives, F/F, Graphic Description of Corpses, Listen I have nothing against Mrs Kasha Davis, Murder Mystery, Not Beta Read, She was there and I had to kill someone, Yoga, YogaTeacher!Katya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:26:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrsrun/pseuds/pyrsrun
Summary: Shit, Trixie has a serial killer in her hands. She flips again through the known associated lists, combing through relatives, friends, old bosses,  and then, their current suspect.Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova.--Trixie is a private investigator hired by the state CID to help solve the murder of a middle-aged woman found in weird circumstances. Will she be able to crack the case, and maybe, find love in the process?(I'm sorry, all my summaries are cheesy)
Relationships: Trixie Mattel/Katya Zamolodchikova
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1. Bracing

**Author's Note:**

> Something came over me when I watched that video of Trixie as a detective and I vomited this chapter, I hope you like it!
> 
> A quick disclaimer that I know nothing about criminal profiling, I just watch a lot of crime shows.

Trixie makes a beeline to the coffee machine with Shea hot on her heels. She usually doesn’t drink coffee but there is something about dealing with the CID that makes her inhale it like air. Trixie is a private investigator but gets hired often enough by the criminal investigations department to be around the station at least a couple of times a week. She doesn’t mind, not really, it’s a good break from inheritance disputes and rich old ladies spying on their husbands, and she knows she is _good_ at it, even helped break a few murder cases for the police.

“It’s pretty simple stuff this time Trix, just some known associates interrogations for the Davis case” Shea flips through the manila folder with a hip leaning on the counter next to the machine.

“You always leave the boring stuff to me” Trixie pouts, and sips her coffee knowing too well that that’s a lie “Any breaks in the case?” 

Shea shakes her head “The only thing breaking is my nerves, although, one of your KAs today-” she trails off, shuffling her papers.

Trixie waits patiently for her to find the right file, clicking her nails against the plastic cup and noticing an area that the pink polish is chipping off.

“Here, they are thinking of turning her into a suspect” Trixie takes the file, quickly scanning over the picture and basic information “Criminal record for petty theft and drug-related crimes, also had a brief stay in a psychiatric hospital”

Trixie’s eyebrows rise a little with each word “So you guys need me to either confirm it or rule it out” she concludes nodding to herself, happy to do a bit of bracing if they need her to.

“Do what you do best, girl” Shea hands her the whole folder and leaves Trixie to her thoughts.

That night, she sits at her office trying to catch up with the details of the case before she starts the interrogations tomorrow. 

Kasha Davis, 49 years old, found in her home by her husband. Crime scenes photos show strangle marks around her neck and missing acrylic nails on her hands, indicating that she might have fought the killer at some point. Kasha was left sitting at her own table, her feet were cut off and propped under a blanket on the sofa making it look like there where someone else lying there.

Trixie sighs looking out the window to the city lights. No matter how many times she helps with murders it always rattles her a bit, it doesn’t help that most of the victims are women. She reaches inside her coat pocket and takes a swig of her hip flask, the whiskey burning down comforting on her throat, then, puts the photos aside and keeps reading the general file. 

Forensics didn’t find anything at the woman’s apartment, and by anything, Trixie means _anything,_ no prints, no weapon, no signs of entry, not even blood from the victim. There were no remains under her nails from where she might have scratched her attacker and her feet were removed posthumously with a clean cut.

So the killer probably has some butchering knowledge, though they are not necessarily a medical student still, they are very organized. The approximate time of death was estimated around 10 am, right in the middle of the day. They were confident, if not ballsy, to go to the woman’s apartment, kill her, stage a scene and clean everything without anyone noticing.

They probably have done it before. Shit, Trixie has a serial killer in her hands.

She flips again through the known associated lists, combing through relatives, friends, old bosses, and then, their current suspect.

Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova.

* * *

Trixie saved the best? The possibly worst? For last. She already went through everyone on her list, and every one of them had the same story. Yes, she was very sweet, yes how could something like this have happened to her? Nothing stood out to her, but even so, Trixie painstakingly took notes of everything they said and their alibi. It wouldn’t be the first time that the devil was in the details. Now there is only one person left, Davis’s yoga teacher, Yekaterina.

Trixie knocks on the door that leads to a small house on top of a closed nightclub. After a beat or two, she hears a loud thud followed by cursing coming from the inside, then approaching footsteps coming down the stairs, and Trixie puts on her best customer service smile that she uses on interviews.

The person that opens the door is at the same time a mess and very well put together, as if she was just getting ready to go out and then took a ten-hour nap on the couch, which, by the sound Trixie heard is what might have happened. She is also on her tiptoes for some reason.

“Hello,” Trixie tries to appear as warm as she can “are you Yekaterina Zamolo- Zamolotchicova?”

“Zamolodchikova” the woman smiles and her teeth blind Trixie for a minute “Yes, but you can call me Katya”

“Hi, Katya. I’m investigator Trixie Mattel and I’m with the state police” she watches Katya’s smile slowly turn into confusion “I wanted to ask you a few questions about yourself and what you know about one of your students, Kasha Davis?”

“Oh” at this the woman deflates like a balloon and opens the door wide “Sure, come in. Please don’t mind the mess”

On the brief walk to the couch, Trixie sees exactly why the possibility of Katya being a serial killer is a concern. They pass several plastic eyeballs, tiny hands, and, most worryingly, rubber feet strewn around every surface. In the wall behind the couch, there are several knives of various sizes artfully arranged, and she can feel a tiny trickle of dread go down her spine.

“Can I get you something to drink? Coffee?” Katya gestures towards the couch and Trixie seats gingerly on it.

“No, thank you” she shakes her head and reaches for a notepad inside her purse “This won’t take long, I’m sure you have better things to do”

Katya nods still looking a little vacant “I don’t fuck with home invasion” she says after a beat.

“What” Trixie slips from whatever poise she was trying to maintain.

“Home invasion. That’s what happened to Mrs. Kasha right? At least that’s what our boss told us at the gym”

“Yes- that’s- one way to put it” Trixie says carefully “What do you know about what happened to her?”

“Uhm, not much really. She just stopped showing up to class one time and a couple of days

later we were told she was killed in her apartment”

Trixie nods and waits to see if Katya will inquire further into what happened, when she doesn’t, she continues with her questions.

“What was your relationship with Mrs. Kasha exactly? Were you two close?”

“No, not really. I mean, she was my favorite student, funny old bitch, but we never talked outside of class or anything.”

“Do you think the other students also liked her? Did you ever notice any fights or friction? Or someone talking a lot about her after her death?” 

“Yeah I think so, I never felt a weird energy~” Katya does a funny voice at the last word and chuckles a little “As for after her death, I wouldn’t know, I got fired shortly after”

Oh, now this picks Trixie interest “Do you know why?”

At this Katya shifts on the couch and seems to get ready for a rant “I got wrongly accused of stealing by my secret lesbian boss!” Trixie’s jaw unhinges a bit in surprise and Katya takes it as her cue to continue “It was a whole plot! And the injustice of it is so infuriating! Did I steal at previous jobs? Sure, but not in this one!”

“Oh, that’s sucks” Trixie deadpans and takes a note to check on that later “Do you know where you are going to work now?”

“Not really” Katya deflates, pouting and resting her head on the back of the couch “I did some interviews, but I don’t know if anyone will call me back”

“Do you like teaching yoga? We know you studied theater in college, did you want to be famous?

“Oh, all the time when I was a kid!” Katya laughs silently at this flailing her limbs in glee “But I really love teaching yoga! I’m very happy! And I always preferred the dance classes in college” 

Trixie smiles “Katya, can you tell me about your day on the 2nd of march?”

“Oh! When was that? Uhmm-” she flails about, looking around herself, probably searching for a calendar.

“Last Tuesday”

“Oh! Sure! Let’s see, I woke up at seven, but then I fell asleep again and woke up at eight, by then I was starting to get late so I ran to the gym and got there around nine then I gave classes until four, then I went to the Starbucks down the street, then I came home around five”

Trixie nods quickly writing down the rapid speech “And do you live here alone? Any roommates?”

“No, there is only me!” she opens her arms to encompass the living room and then leaning her chin on her fist maintaining a blinding smile.

“Really,” Trixie says matter-of-factly “No family or significant others?”

“No! I mean, I love my family but only hell knows what I put then through when I was younger” having learned of her history Trixie doesn’t find that hard to believe “I’m also not seriously dating anyone right now” at this Trixie thinks she saw a wink.

“Do you like older women Katya?”

“Oh. Well, there was that grandpa’s ass I licked, but not particularly” she furrows her brows “Why, how old are you?”

Trixie blinks “I’m thirty”

“Oh, great! I’m thirty-eight! So no problem.”

Trixie blinks again feeling like she got whiplash. She looks at her notes and yep, she got everything after all “Well thank you for your time Katya” Trixie gets up and starts walking towards the door “We will be in contact if we need you, please don’t leave town in the meantime”

“Sure! You know where to find me!” Katya opens the door to let her out. When Trixie looks back after she took a few steps down the road, she can see Katya waving her in the distance, she doesn’t wave back.

* * *

In the end, Katya’s alibi somewhat checks. When Trixie asks her former boss if she had seen her on the date of Kasha Davis’s death, she sees the woman’s eyes sharpen and a predatory smile tug on her lips, before declaring that Katya hadn’t come to work that day. Suspicious and less than amused, Trixie asks to see the frequency records and talks to some students to discover that Katya had given her class last Tuesday. Apparently, she also wasn’t lying about there being a plot.

Katya also doesn’t match the profile created of the killer. By the looks of her house, she clearly isn’t organized in her personal life and apparently happy to not have control over things, going against what the killer demonstrated leaving the scene immaculate. She also had no problem admitting to, uhm, having licked a grandpa’s ass, while if the crime is sexual in nature, the killer would probably ashamed of his desire for older women.

But that leaves Trixie with the question, if it isn’t Katya, then who is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Comments make my day! If you don't know what to say, tell me what is your favorite UNHhhh episode?


	2. Twist of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone who commented, kudoed and bookmarked! You keep me motivated!

Trixie runs her eyes over the map that covers most of the left wall of her office trying to see a pattern that might give her some insight, anything to let her know something is up, that there is something weird in the path her subject is taking. She rattles the pins in her hands and considers busting out the red thread.

Trixie keeps looking at it for a moment longer before giving up, picking her wallet, and going to the coffee shop beneath the building. She needs something to kickstart her brain out of the absolute boredom of this investigation and give her brain some space to breathe. Trixie sighs. If only the CID had called her again to consult with the Davis case, but no, instead she is stuck with fucking  _ Henry _ who may or may not be cheating on his wife. At least, last time she went on stakeout she managed to put a GPS tracker in the fucker’s car.

Trixie orders a cappuccino and chats a bit with Adore who is behind the register today, but she doesn’t linger since the shop is quite full. Instead, Trixie waits patiently on a barstool until she hears a new barista calling someone behind her.

“Katya Zamo!!”

She feels a spike of anxiety deep in her belly. Trixie doesn’t want to look but makes herself do so anyway. She turns slowly, and surely enough, there is the weird woman from last week. Today her ashy blond hair is in pigtails, she is wearing leggings and a t-shirt saying “let’s party”, and most horrendously, crocs. 

Now that Trixie knows Katya isn’t a serial killer, she takes a moment to really look at the other woman as a person, not a suspect. Instead of searching for scratches and bruises, her eyes appreciate the milky pink skin of her arms. Instead of looking for deceit in her body language, Trixie takes in her lithe and toned form. She can’t help but think the other woman is kinda pretty. As she keeps looking, Katya turns around and their eyes meet across the cafe, and Trixie is sucked inside clear blue arctic pools. Not pretty, gorgeous.

Oh no, she can’t find anyone wearing crocs gorgeous.

Since she hasn’t moved or quit her staring, Trixie has now a front-row seat to the recognition filling Katya’s eyes, and before she can think to start panicking, the woman is sprinting down her way with a blinding smile.

“Hi! Are you following me Barbie?”

“What? No, I work here” Trixie tries and fails to look offended, quickly ignoring the blush that being called Barbie brings to her cheeks.

“At the cafe? I thought you were a detective”

“I have an office in this building!” she says exasperated rolling her eyes.

“Oh” something brightens in Katya’s expression “And how is your investigation going? Am I a suspect yet?”

“Why, did you do it?”

“Maybe~” she says coyly, batting her eyes.

Trixie chuckles “You didn’t, we already ruled you out”

“Wait, I was really a suspect?” her eyes widen. 

Oh, no.

“Shit I shouldn’t have told you that,” Trixie says, mortified. She can’t share this kind of information with civilians, much less a former suspect. Not for the last time, Trixie curses her wide mouth.

Before she can think of escaping, Katya's hand grabs her arm and she can swear she feels electricity running between them.

“I was a suspect?” her eyes are a little wild and her smile is frozen in place.

“No, no I-”

“TRACY MARTEL!” Trixie is so relieved by the new girl calling her she doesn’t even bat an eye at the wrong name.

She escapes Katya and grabs her cappuccino on the counter, quickly thanking the person behind it. Trixie takes a breath and gets her shit together. She hates it, but she has to be at least somewhat professional.

When she looks behind herself Katya is approaching tentatively “Look, I’m sorry, I can’t tell people the details of the case. Yes, you were a suspect, you no longer are.”

“No, it’s okay, I understand” she doesn’t meet Trixie’s eyes “I meant it as a joke but turns out...” now that the shock wore out she looks worn out somehow, smaller “Was it something I did?”

Trixie shakes her head “Mostly the background check”

“Oh”

“Yeah” They both know what that means, and Trixie hates knowing. Hates that it wasn’t Katya herself that told her.

They stand near the counter and silence stretches between them, people keep dancing around to get to their drinks, and Trixie decides to break it.

“I have to go back to work” she says apologetically.

“Oh shit me too!” Katya looks at her wrist and winks at Trixie. It’s then that she notices there are only bracelets on her arm.

“So you got a job already?” She tries to steer the conversation to safer paths.

“Oh yeah! This dance school called me the day after we talked. They are opening another studio” Katya opens the door for her “I have a staff meeting just now.”

“That seems cool” they are now just standing outside the entrance to her building “Is it around here?”   
Katya's smile seems to grow and she keeps looking at the elevator and back at Trixie. Understanding slowly dawns on her and her eyes bug out a little making Katya full-on laugh.

“It’s right here actually.”

* * *

Katya opens the door to the fire escape, glad to finally have some time to herself. She sits on the second step and lights a cigarette, feeling the wind ruffle her dress and making her hair tickle her face. She cut it into a blunt bob this morning and she’s still not quite used to it. New job, new hair, new me, she chuckles to herself and takes a drag.

The people at the studio seem nice, much nicer than the people at her last job at least. Today is finally their last meeting so the studio can open for students tomorrow. It was a week of ice breakers, talks, and workshops, but Katya was glad for it. She already made friends with Violet and Ginger, and Kennedy is slowly opening up to her. At first, it was a little weird being the only person that doesn’t teach a dance, why the fuck do they have yoga anyway? But soon she wormed her way in.

And then there is Trixie, god Katya hates being bisexual, no that’s a lie she loves it, but still. 

Trixie is so pretty and Katya wants to grow all over her like a rash, climb her like a stripper pole and crawl inside her skin. She seemed a little cold during their first meeting, but she can’t blame her really, she was being a professional woman professional, and she seems more open to Katya now, even complimenting her new hair when they met in the hall this morning.

As if the universe is finally being helpful and collaborating with Katya’s life for once, she catches a yellow shape moving beneath her out of the corner of her eye, and with a jolt, she recognizes it as Trixie’s hair. She leans enough to confirm that yes, she can see Trixie inside her office, so Katya quickly stubs her cigarette and goes down the stairs until she is on a small platform in front of Trixie’s window.

She knocks on the window and puts on her best serial killer smile. Oh. Well, maybe she should stay clear of these two words for a while, being a suspect once is enough. She drops the smile, but Trixie is so absorbed looking at a huge ass map that she doesn’t hear anything or notice anyone else is there. Katya knocks again, but still, nothing. Taking matters into her own hands, Katya tries to slide the window open, and to her delight, it gives and opens enough for her to squeeze in.

She gets a leg through, but her dress catches on the metal edge making her lose her balance and fall into a heap on the floor. When she looks up Katya can see Trixie towering over her and can confirm that yes, the other woman is also gorgeous at this angle.

“Should I call the cops?” Trixie says with a smile and extends a hand to help her up.

“I would much rather you didn’t” Katya grins and takes it “I had a break and thought I would pop by, say hello”

“Through the window?” Trixie puts an arm on her shoulder to steady her and Katya dies a little on the inside “Weren’t you the one that didn’t fuck with home invasion?”

“Not when I’m doing the invading, mama”

“Uhm maybe I  _ should _ call the station” 

Katya laughs flailing her arms and holds onto Trixie when she accidentally hits her. Trixie holds her back until she calms down. From her position she can see the map the other detective was so invested in and she loses herself a bit in the web of red thread.

“So, what are you working on?” Katya points at it “Do you have a suspect yet?”

“Oh, no” Trixie shakes her head and looks a bit embarrassed “This shows the real lack of excitement of the job. This map has every route that Henry took the last month while possibly cheating on his wife, who hired me to find just who with”

Katya gets up and closer to the map, eyes mapping and connecting the red string, passing through familiar streets, looking for what she doesn’t know.

“Did you find anything?”

Trixie shakes her head “Nothing out of the ordinary except for too frequent grocery shopping”

That tickles Katya’s mind a little, memories from a while ago resurfacing “Where? Show me”

Trixie leans over to point to a pin on the map. From this position, Katya can smell honey and fabric softener coming from her and she just wants to snuggle up inside it and go to sleep. She follows Trixie’s finger and sure enough, there it is. Katya feels a smile creeping up her face and she turns to Trixie who starts looking puzzled.

“This. Is not just a grocery store”

Trixie’s eyes widen “Why? What do you mean?”

“This,” Katya taps a little at the pin “is a front. There is a secret stripper club in the basement”

“How do you know that?”

“I used to work there. As a waitress! A long time ago” The memories of that place are not the best, complete with shady individuals, violence, and more drugs than she could ever want. No, that’s a lie, she wanted them all.

And she always got them.

She looks up, afraid to see judgment in Trixie’s eyes when they meet, but there is only glee in them.

“You, are amazing”

* * *

Katya offered to take Trixie there since she still has some connections and she gladly agreed. Usually, the devil is in the details, but sometimes he is behind the storage door of a grocery store and in a very weird and pretty lady. Fortunately, Trixie found a pattern in Henry’s outings. He would go to the club every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, between 7 pm and 8 pm, but never stayed longer than thirty minutes. After that, he would go merrily on his way to his wife and kids.

Trixie sighs and pushes open the glass door to the studio. Katya said to go find her at the end of her shift and they would go together from there. She looks around a small waiting room filled with middle-aged women feeling a little lost until she meets the pointed stare of the person behind the desk.

She is very short with red hair and a permanent sour expression.

“Hey” Trixie approaches tentatively clutching her purse, “Katya asked me to meet her here…”

“Oh, so you’re the girl”

“Excuse me?”

The woman gives her a tired look “Pretty, blond, crazy eyeliner” she lazily points at Trixie as if trying to swat a fly “Katya talks about you”

“Oh” Trixie feels the blush creeping up her cheeks. Katya talks about her.

“Second door to the left” she points at the direction with a shooing motion “Just follow the Olivia Newton-John”

“Ok..?” Trixie peers around the corner, just now hearing a faint 80s synth “Thank you”

As she gets closer to the room the sound just gets louder and when Trixie reaches the door she suddenly gets frozen in place.

The room is full of kids and teenagers sitting in a circle around a woman, but Trixie’s whole attention is zeroed in on Katya dancing to the sound of Twist of Fate. When Trixie arrives she is in a backbend showing off her toned abs and legs, then Katya slowly gets up, immediately locks eyes with Trixie, and does a slow split during a lull in the song without breaking her stare and Trixie is dead.

Trixie has died and gone to heaven, her jaw is on the floor and she is having her second lesbian awakening. She has to remember to take deep breaths and blink her eyes, her vision gone blurry. When she comes to, the song has ended and she curses herself for having missed the whole thing.

She waits patiently with a small smile as the other woman in the room uses Katya as an example to teach the kids how to do a split, all the while excitedly telling her to point her toes as she laughs maniacally. Soon the class is over and the children are filling out with a chorus of “Bye Mrs. Alyssa!” and “Bye Mrs. Katya!”.

When all the kids are gone Katya comes to Trixie with a grin and a light layer of sweat on her brow.

“Come on Barbie, we have a cheater to catch”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, when I saw Katya's lip sync for the first time I died and returned as a monster. It really changed me.
> 
> And the plot thickens! Who the hell is this Henry guy anyway?
> 
> Comments make my day! If you don't know what to say, tell me, what was your favorite lip sync that Trixie and Katya lost?


	3. Small clay birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small disclaimer that as with everything in this fic, I have no idea how espionage, investigations, fronts, or clubs work.

She looks carefully over the woman in front of her. Dela can see her foot tapping occasionally in an anxious gesture, but her hands rest folded on top of the table in the same position they’ve found themselves since Dela asked if she agreed to take the polygraph test, to which she replied “I will on one condition”

Her blue eyes had turned to arctic steel “If everything I say turns out to be true, you will officially attribute this case to investigator Mattel, and” she looked even more pointedly to Dela “you will allow me to be her assistant”

Bendela’s eyes sharpened “And what is your interest in the case?”

“Oh, none at all” the woman smiled “I just found a recent passion for the investigative field, that’s all”

After a few minutes, she is still trying to figure out what she meant by that when Jinkx comes back with the lie detector.

“Sorry for the wait, I fell asleep on the way”

Dela can’t help but roll her eyes fondly at the narcolepsy joke. Just being near her partner calms her a bit and allows her to focus better on the task at hand. Once Yekaterina is all set up and Jinkx gives her the go, Dela asks:

“Tell me about your day on the 15th of march”

* * *

They walk in silence to Trixie’s apartment since it is closer both to their jobs and the grocery store. Katya is currently lost in a maelstrom of worried thoughts, swimming to get to the surface but inevitably being dragged down again. Did she make the right choice when she offered to take Trixie there? What if she gets recognized? What if Katya has a relapse? What if she gets in the way of Trixie’s investigation? Shit, she should just have told her the password. But what if someone finds Trixie shouldn’t be there? What if Katya has to get her out?

And damn, Trixie looked so happy when Katya told her she could get them in, there is no way she can backpedal now.

“I didn’t know you danced”

That kicks Katya’s brain to the present. She looks at Trixie and finds a coy look on her face “I told you I used to dance in college” she grins.

“Yeah but I expected something more...” Trixie flails her arms in a vague gesture “something more, artsy I guess”

“Mama, those legs” she runs her hand up her thigh and snaps her fingers “are the art”

Trixie lets out a screeching laugh and several birds take flight at the same time “Shut up!”

Soon she is being pulled by the arm to the door of a five-story building, the architecture seems old, but charming because of it. There is no elevator so they have to take the stairs to Trixie’s apartment on the third floor.

Katya never saw someone match so seamlessly with her environment. Every inch of the apartment screams of Trixie, from the pink walls to the faint smell of honey in the air and the dead grey plant on the windowsill.

Trixie kicks her heels to the floor, loosens her tie, and throws her purse on the coffee table plopping on the sofa with a huff. She shuffles around trying to find a comfortable position, then she smiles at Katya. “Do you want to take the shower first?”

She looks down at herself feeling kinda grubby “Yeah I’m sticky from all the yoga” 

Trixie nods “Hold on I’m gonna grab you a towel”

Katya quickly showers, noticing happily that now she smells like Trixie. She puts on a sort of sheer, ruffled red dress and when she opens the door, the two swap places wordlessly. As she sits on the couch to put on a pair of black boots, Katya muses happily on how they can have silence without it being uncomfortable even though they have only known each other for such a short time.

When Trixie comes out of the bathroom she is wearing a ridiculously short black shimmery halter dress and Katya’s throat goes instantly dry. Her eyes don’t know if they stay in Trixie’s thighs or if they run to perspiration in her neck as she gathers her hair into a high ponytail. Either way, she must be staring for a long while because Trixie interrupts her.

“What?”

What Katya is thinking is something along the lines of “ _ I want you to rail me hard into next week _ ”, but what she says is “You look like baby spice”

She squeals a bit “YES! And I have just the shoe, hold on”

Katya has just the time to regain her breath before Trixie comes back with knee-high white boots and she loses it all over again.

“What do you think?” she twirls and does a silly pose complete with a peace sign and a wink.

“You look very cute” Katya is enjoying seeing this side of Trixie immensely, having grown used to the severe pink suits, ties, and button-ups.

“Thanks, you look very cute too” Trixie blushes a little and Katya beams at her.

Trixie comes closer and that’s when Katya notices she is holding a small box with some wires coming out of it.

“Come here, I have to mic you up” oh yeah, this is not a date, they are on a  _ mission _ , Katya has to  _ focus _ .

“Do you want me to drop down from the ceiling?” She turns around so Trixie can tuck the box inside the back of her bra, then she brings the wire to the front and tapes the end against Katya’s chest underneath her dress. Now it’s her time to blush.

“No, I think we will let Tom Cruise keep his job for now” Trixie laughs “Are you ready?” Katya nods “OK, let’s go”

* * *

Trixie watches as Katya struts confidently across the aisle and goes straight to the old man at the back of the store.

“I hear the artichokes are splendid this time of year” she says without missing a beat.

“Oh yes, but only if you know the right day to harvest them” he stares from under thick eyebrows.

“Tuesdays, of course” Katya grins.

The old man nods “Come with me”

They hurry up after him, going through a trap door hidden behind the counter and down a long set of stairs. Everything is almost completely dark and Trixie’s hand reaches for Katya’s instinctively. She almost panics, but Katya squeezes back firmly. When they finally reach the bottom step it is to an empty concrete room with a single door on the far wall that the old guy opens with a flourish.

Suddenly they are flooded by bass lines and multicolored lights kissing their skin as they look on to sounds of laughter and the sights of moving bodies “Enjoy your stay” the man ushers them in and closes the door behind them.

Trixie takes a moment to gather her bearings, but Katya pulls her confidently by the hand through a mass of people, heading to the bar that lines the far wall. As they walk Trixie observes the patrons around them. They seem to be mostly men, and the women she sees look like they work here, she hopes she and Katya don’t stand out from the crowd too much.

It is very hard to see people’s features. The only light source comes from the stage at the center, and the patrons soon turn into a moving black mass. Trixie blinks, trying to sharpen her eyes, but the vision stays with her. She worries over how they are going to find Henry in this mess.

Soon they reach what must be the destination Katya had in mind. She stops where the bar makes an L shape and guides Trixie to a stool on the corner, and in a moment she sees why. From where they are, the black mass is suddenly lit up and Trixie can see people's faces.

She turns an inquisitive look to Katya who shrugs and just says close to her ear “Perks of having worked here before”

Trixie nods ignoring the fact that it doesn’t quite answer her question “Let’s keep an eye out, soon Henry should be here”

Trixie orders a Jack and Coke and notices Katya nervously ask for a Red Bull. She feels her stare at the side of her face and turns an inquisitive look before understanding that she was waiting for Trixie to say something. She makes the executive decision not to and only takes a sip of her drink. Katya gives her a small smile.

It’s Katya who spots him first. 

“Is that our man?” She leans in to whisper in Trixie’s ear, discreetly pointing at a point near the main stage. They see Henry tipping one of the strippers, then, another girl appears and hangs from his arm giggling close to him. After a few minutes of watching they see them moving to one of the tables that litter the space.

Trixie decides to make her move “I’m getting closer”

“No, let me do it” Katya scrambles up and Trixie narrows her eyes at her.

“Why?”

“I know the club better” she shrugs but still looks a little shifty “He won’t see me”

Trixie is about to retort that with the number of people around them no one can see anybody either way, but Katya shoots off after Henry with a pat on her shoulder.

Trixie sighs slightly annoyed, but soon clears her head, Katya is probably just enjoying the espionage aspect of the job, and she decides to let her while it still seems fun to her. Trixie makes use of her advantage point and takes a few photos of the couple while pretending to scroll through her phone. That should be enough to close the case and whatever Katya manages to gather won’t hurt either.

“Hey, do you come here often? I’ve never seen you around”

Trixie jumps a little, cursing herself for not watching her surroundings better. She quickly lays her phone down on the counter and looks at the man that decided to ploop himself down on the stool next to her.

“And if depends on me you will never see again”

“Hoho! Not only is she cute, but she also bites!” Trixie hoped the guy had taken the hint and left her alone, but no such luck “Did anyone ever tell you they are the most beautiful thing they have ever seen?”

The man puts his hand on her thigh and Trixie has had it. She is preparing to punch him in the face, this investigation be damned, when she feels strong arms encircle her waist from behind.

“Yeah, I tell her that every day actually” Trixie immediately relaxes when she notices that they belong to Katya “You ok, baby?” she drops a kiss on the crown of her head and Trixie melts.

“If you ever touch me again I will fucking break your arm” she addresses the man who is making the face of a surprised fish.

“You better fuck off now”

The guy goes away with a mumbled “sorry man” and Trixie relaxes back leaning her weight back into Katya, enjoying the contact for a moment.

“Trixie, I’m sorry if I -” Katya starts, but cuts herself off “ Wait, where is Henry?”

Trixie’s eyes shoot open and Katya’s hands scramble off her. They both lean forward scanning the club when Trixie spots him entering through a semi-hidden door.

“There! Found him!” she gets up to go chase him, but Katya grabs her arm.

“Wait where-”

“Go interview the girl who was with him before” she interrupts her “I’ll be back soon, promise”

And Trixie shoots off after Henry.

* * *

Katya is left worried and dumbfounded having already lost Trixie from sight. 

She bites her lip in thought remembering when she worked here. There were places that you just didn’t go, doors that you just didn’t open. Not that they were ever threatened, but people that did just disappeared, never to be seen again. It doesn't help that she hasn’t seen one familiar face since they arrived, of course, some people would have left, she herself left, but change the whole staff? It sets her teeth on edge.

She doesn’t like leaving Trixie alone, out of her sight. Not here.

Katya takes a deep breath. Ten minutes. That’s what she will give Trixie before she searches for her. In the meantime, Katya will do what she asked and go talk to the girl.

“Hey!” she plops herself on the chair next to the woman “Who was that guy you were talking to?”

“Oh!” The girl seems surprised but very open with a small smile tugging at her lips “That was Henry, cool guy” she looks off at the distance still smiling “Are you the new girl?”

“Oh no, if anything I am the old girl” Katya laughs out loud at that “I used to work here a few years back, but I still pop by from time to time”

“Then what is your interest in him?” her tone is not accusatory, just filled with naive curiosity.

“Oh, you know” Katya shrugs bashfully “Just thought he was cute, that’s all” the lie coming easily to her lips

The girl laughs and it is like a tinkling of a thousand bells “That one is trouble! He is married you know?”

“It never was a problem to me before”

“And it sure isn’t to him!” Bingo “I’m Ashley, you?” she extends her hand for a shake. 

“I’m Katya”

“Fun name” she smiles “Henry is a fun guy too, you will like him. Just a bit secretive that’s all”

“How so?” Katya asks while thinking that you got to be if you are cheating on your wife.

“Oh, he is one of them you know? They all are like that. But we all should be happy for when the blue one walks in Gargoha she will awake, and the oceans will recede”

Katya narrows her eyes trying to make sense of what Ashley just said. When it doesn’t, she starts to wonder if the girl isn’t high out of her mind when a hand grabs her shoulder and pulls her up.

* * *

Trixie is glad to find that the door isn’t locked opening it with some difficulty. It’s heavier than it looks and when it closes behind her, the door blocks the sounds of the club entirely. The room she is in is completely dark and Trixie feels her breathing get heavier as adrenaline starts coursing through her veins. She risks turning on the flashlight of her phone and is glad to find that the room is empty. Empty except for a trapdoor in the middle. 

Trixie approaches wearily and curses herself for not bringing her gun today, its weight always a comfort at her back. She reaches to the side of her right boot and pulls out a small switchblade, praying that it buys her time if she needs it to. Trixie gives the handle of the trapdoor a tug and it opens up easily, the hinges seem well oiled, indicating that it probably sees frequent enough traffic. Below, a long set of concrete stairs awaits her. 

There are walls on both sides of the staircase and it’s making her feel constricted, like she can’t quite breathe. She must be going down it for around a minute when the final steps get larger and open up to a much bigger room, not as big as the club itself, but definitely bigger than the grocery store above.

Near the ceiling, small holes allow for a trickle of natural light to bathe the walls, and Trixie wonders how that is possible being so far beneath the earth. There are two long tunnels to her sides, both completely dark, making her feel a deep unease looking at them. She finally turns her attention to the thing in front of her.

It looks like some sort of altar.

At the center, tall branches are covered with a deep indigo cloth, and all around it, small clay birds are carefully arranged. Trixie notices that the cloth is hiding some white shapes beneath it, as she approaches to get a closer look a chill climbs up her spine. Bones, human bones are littered beneath the figure. She recoils in shock and a skull grins at her mockingly.

Trixie backs away horrified wondering about what she just stumbled through. A cult? Is Henry somehow involved in this? Or just a person in the wrong place at the wrong time? She will have to inform the CID. Trixie pulls out her phone and takes a picture, flinching at the harshness of the flash.

She lowers herself, picking up one of the birds to inspect further. It has a red stain on its breast and small diamond shapes engraved on its wings. As she turns it over to get a better light on a small inscription she hears a snap behind her.

Trixie turns around slowly with her blade in hand, but there’s no one there. She listens closely for a second until she makes footsteps coming from the right tunnel. And they are coming  _ fast _ . With no time to think, Trixie runs up the stairs taking two at a time, with each step she takes the louder the footfalls behind her get.

By some miracle, she reaches the trap door without tripping and shoves it open with her shoulder. Trixie lets it fall closed, running to the heavy door that separates her from the relative safety of the club, it jams a bit, and just as she finally gets it open Trixie hears well-oiled hinges behind her.

She shoves herself into the mass of people desperately trying to find Katya so they can get the hell out of there. Thankfully she is exactly where she asked her to be, talking to the girl from before. In her panic, her fingers dig into Katya’s shoulder forcefully and she can see her wince a bit.

“Katya we need to go  _ now _ ”

She must see the panic in Trixie’s eyes because she doesn’t say anything, just gets up and runs after her. Just before they reach the door they used to enter the club, Katya grabs her hand and steers them to another, smaller door off to the side with an “employers only” sign at the top.

They climb yet another set of stairs that leaves them in what seems to be the back alley of the store. Trixie spots a dumpster and pulls them to crouch behind it just in time to hear running footsteps going the opposite direction. She chances a look at Katya to find concerned blue eyes, Trixie squeezes her hand tighter trying to reassure her.

And on her other hand, a clay bird stares at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, y'all wanted a twist, eh? 
> 
> Thank you everyone who commented/kudoed/bookmarked since the last chapter! Please let me know what you think of this one. The plot thickens!
> 
> Katya's look is inspired by the one she wore in Hurricane Bianca, and Trixie's is inspired by Baby Spice's in the BRIT Awards! Here is the link to that video because it h a u n t s me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQCSAboXGfA
> 
> Tell me, who is your favorite Spice Girl? Mine is Mel C!


End file.
